Quick Take:
Phil Rodriguez submitted his resignation from the Soquel Union Elementary School District governing board last month. The district board plans to appoint a replacement in February.
One year after a Soquel Union Elementary School District trustee was reelected to a school board he had resigned from months before the election, the district announced Friday that he has resigned again.
Phil Rodriguez, who has served on the board for the past decade, resigned Dec. 26, 2023, effective immediately. He didn’t provide a reason in his letter of resignation, which was submitted to the board president, and didn’t respond to Lookout’s requests for comment on Friday.
Superintendent Scott Turnbull said he was surprised to learn of the resignation and that Rodriguez served his past year with good attendance and engagement.
“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting it,” Turnbull said.
The district’s board plans to appoint a new trustee who will serve the rest of the term, until the next scheduled election in November. Board members will interview candidates and appoint a new member during the Feb. 21 board meeting.
In the summer of 2022, Rodriguez filed his paperwork to run for reelection in the election that November. However, shortly after, in September, he announced his resignation effective immediately at a school board meeting.
At that point, it was too late to remove his name from the ballot. Rodriguez and his newcomer opponent, Justin Maffia, were both on the ballot.
Prior to the election, on Nov. 3, Lookout, unaware of Rodriguez’s resignation, published a questionnaire interviewing both candidates. Rodriguez answered the questions without mentioning his resignation.
Following the publication of the questionnaire, Lookout became aware of his resignation and asked him if he intended to run for reelection after having resigned. He told Lookout on Nov. 4 he intended to serve if reelected.
Maffia, who thought he was running unopposed, told Lookout he ran his campaign as if he were the only candidate and didn’t campaign as much as he would have if he had known Rodriguez was still running.
Rodriguez won the election with 57.8% of the vote to his opponent’s 41.6%.
At his swearing-in ceremony a month after the election, about 10 parents attended the school board meeting in protest. One parent said they felt Rodriguez misled voters. D-R Martin, president of the Soquel Education Association, said that while Rodriguez’s election was legitimate, her union saw his motivations as opaque.
During that December 2022 meeting, Rodriguez said he intended to serve his full four-year term. “My record with the SUESD has been consistent, I have always said yes when asked to step up,” he told Lookout in November 2022. “If my friends and neighbors select me on Nov. 8 I will serve.”
On Friday, Turnbull said he doesn’t expect Rodriguez will seek reelection again.
“We’ve been surprised before so I guess nothing’s out of the realm of possibility,” said Turnbull.
Previously, Rodriguez resigned from a position on the school board. In 2015, there was an effort by several parents to recall him and two other trustees over concerns about a dispute involving an increase to the then-superintendent’s salary.
The effort was cut short in July of that year when Rodriguez resigned as board president, but he stayed on the board as a trustee. Additionally, the former superintendent, Henry Castaniada, announced he would retire at the end of the following academic year.
The district will accept applications until 4 p.m. on Feb. 14. Applicants must be 18 years or older, a district resident of Trustee Area 4 and a registered voter. To request an application, call the school district at 831-464-5639.
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